r.i.p. Warren Zevon (no OTR)

[wrosesongs at fastmail_fm]

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 9) - Warren Zevon, who wrote and sang the rock hit
''Werewolves of London'' and was among the wittiest and most original of
a broad circle of singer-songwriters to emerge from Los Angeles in the
1970s, died Sunday. He was 56.

A lifelong smoker until quitting several years ago, Zevon announced in
September 2002 that he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and
had only months to live. He spent much of that time visiting with his two
grown children and working on a final album.

Zevon died Sunday of lung cancer at his home, his manager Irving Azoff
told the Los Angeles Times. Azoff did not return calls from The
Associated Press early Monday.

Phone messages also were not returned from Zevon's publicist, Dianna
Baron; Baron's assistant, Cathy Williams; and Zevon's record company
manager, John Baruck.

Zevon faced death with the same dark sense of humor found in much of his
music, including songs like ''I'll Sleep When I'm Dead,'' ''Life'll Kill
Ya'' and ''Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.''

Zevon said he ''chose a certain path and lived like Jim Morrison and
lived 30 more years. You make choices and you have to live with the
consequences.''

He released his first album, ''Wanted - Dead or Alive,'' to little notice
in 1969, but gained attention in the '70s by writing a string of popular
songs for Linda Ronstadt, including ''Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,''
''Carmelita'' and ''Hasten Down the Wind.''

His next two albums, 1976's ''Warren Zevon'' and 1978's ''Excitable
Boy,'' followed those songs with darkly humorous tales of prom-date
rapists; headless, gun-toting soldiers of fortune; and werewolves who
drank pina coladas at singles bars and were particular about their hair.

They cemented Zevon's reputation as one of rock music's most politically
incorrect lyricists, giving him a lifelong cult following that included
gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura
and ''Late Show'' host David Letterman, who provided backing vocals on
''Hit Somebody,'' Zevon's 2001 elegy to a professional hockey goon who
longs to be a goal-scoring hero.

''I always like to have violent lyrics and violent music,'' Zevon told
The Associated Press in 1990. ''The knowledge of death and fear of death
informs my existence. It's a safe, kind of cheerful way of dealing with
that issue.''

Other admirers included Bob Dylan, whom Zevon cited as one of his
principal songwriting influences and who performed on his 1987 album
''Sentimental Hygiene.'' Still another was Bruce Springsteen, who
co-wrote ''Jeannie Needs a Shooter,'' Zevon's tale of a lover shot to
death by a woman's jealous father.

Not that all of his music was dark and violent. His oveure contained some
straight-out comedy as well, including ''Mr. Bad Example,'' ''The Hula
Hula Boys'' and ''Gorilla You're a Desperado.'' The latter told the tale
of a Los Angeles Zoo ape who escapes by locking a yuppie in his place and
going off to live in the man's apartment, only to end up depressed and
divorced.

His compositional style reflected a number of genres, from hard-driving
rock to folk, as well as classical, polka and other influences. In his
final months, he summoned the energy to complete a last album, ''The
Wind,'' released in August. It includes the poignant ''Keep Me in Your
Heart,'' a cranky ''Disorder in the House'' and a remake of Dylan's
''Knockin' on Heaven's Door.''

Zevon, born in Chicago to Russian immigrant parents, moved to Los Angeles
in the 1960s, making a living writing jingles for television commercials.
He also composed the song ''She Quit Me Man'' for the movie ''Midnight
Cowboy.'' He was just out of his teens when he went to work for the
Everly Brothers, first as a pianist and later as their band leader.

 AP-NY-09-08-03 0709EDT

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. 
All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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